Latest On ASSU - ASUU may call off strike this week

This may come as good to the Nigerian Students, who have benn frustrated by the inresponsiveness by the Govt.
Indications emerged in Abuja on Tuesday in Abuja that the leaders of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) may yield to pressure from the public and call off the over three months old strike that has grounded academic activities in public universities.
Tempers have already began to rise from both parents and students over the protracted strike by the ASUU. The strike which was embarked on by the ASUU on 1st July, 2013 to press home for the implementation of the 2009 agreement with the Federal Government has defied all possible solution.

The Supervising Minister of Education, Barrister Nyesom Wike, speaking on Tuesday at anniversary lecture of the National Universities Commission tagged NUC @ 50+1, marking the 50th anniversary celebration in retrospect, also confirmed that the strike would soon be called off by the ASUU.

Represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Dr. MacJohn Nwaobiala, Wike said government was concerned and is doing all it could to ensure the lecturers return to classrooms.

Based on the fresh agreement between the Federal Government and ASUU, the leadership of ASUU was supposed to brief its members at meeting after the Eid-el-kabir celebration.
Our close source gathered that ASUU actually met on Tuesday at an undisclosed venue, raising hope that they might come up with positive position. Though as at the time of writing this report, no clear information on the resolution of ASUU meeting was obtained.

After all the efforts by the immediate past Minister of Education, Professor Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufa’i, joined by the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Emeka Wogu to resolve the impasse failed, not even the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim who later took over the mediatory role could resolve the crisis.

Now the battle ground has been shifted the ASO ROCK Presidential Villa, with the Vice-President, Arc. Namadi Sambo as chief negotiator.

Last week the Federal Government was said to have made fresh concession to the demands ASUU in a bid to end the strike.

Education Tribune, gathered that the negotiation with the leadership of the Union, which has now been taken by the Vice-President Arc. Namadi Sambo, struck a new deal last week.

In the new agreement reached with the Union, government has agreed to increase the N30 billion already released for the payment of academic Earned Allowance to N40 billion.

This according to sources in the meeting held with the Vice-President, Arc. Sambo, also agreed that the N40 billion should be regarded only as first instalment, and not a once-and-for-all payment.

The memorandum drafted at the of the meeting indicated that Government would top it up with further releases once universities are through with the disbursement of this new figure of N40 million.

Accordingly, Vice-Chancellors have been urged to expedite this disbursement within the shortest possible time using guiding templates that have been sent by the Committee of Vice Chancellors to them.

Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim had disclosed that some of the terms of agreement that have been met by the government.

He said: “After series of discussions involving the National Assembly, the SGF, the Chairman of the Needs Assessment Report Implementation Committee, Governor Gabriel Suswam, the Ministers of Education, Labour and the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and other stakeholders, Government has now provided N30 billion to support the University Councils in settling the Earned Allowances”.

According to him, all other issues of Consolidated Salary Structure for Academics in Nigerian Universities (CONUASS II, amendment of Pensionable Retirement Age of Academics in the Professorial cadre to 70 years have been fully implemented.

Anyim said most of the issues contained in the 2009 agreement, which necessitated the current strike have been fully met except for the earned allowances which ASUU pegged at N92billion. He said, “On July 2nd, 2013, ASUU declared what it called, “total and indefinite strike” over issues it says have remained unresolved pertaining to an agreement it reached with government in 2009
Latest On ASSU - ASUU may call off strike this week